Review: Spacial Absence – Primal Machinery (Deadleg Incident, 2017)

Even though this one came out quite a bit ago, I only recently discovered it and really think it deserves more attention. Primal Machineryis the debut release of Pennsylvania artist Spacial Absence, who also operates under the aliases Cador, Aether, and others. It’s undoubtedly an album that would best be placed under the umbrella of harsh noise wall, but it also approaches the genre in unique ways. Each track is based on field recordings from various sources; according to the artist, “Air Fatigue” uses noises recorded on an international flight to China, “Nighttime Panic 100°C” consists of sounds made by insects, and the two-part “Shower,” unsurprisingly, is formed by a recording of a shower. The odd one out is “Forest Fire Fishing Trip,” which was produced using manipulated microphone feedback, but it’s just as lush and diverse as the others and doesn’t feel out of place in the slightest. The whole album feels just as organic as the source material; the dense walls are static, yet build and contract. Despite the dynamics and structure still being incredibly subtle, the focus is not only placed on the noise itself, but also on how it moves, unfurls, and decays; a concept that makes Primal Machinery one of the most interesting and engaging harsh noise wall albums I’ve ever heard.

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Welcome to Noise Not Music. Here you’ll find reviews of recent albums, various essays, weekly mixes, and posts about events.

I tend to focus on stuff that resides in the experimental or avant-garde realm of music, but nothing is off limits. If you have an album you’d like me to review, please email me or comment on a post. When I say nothing is off limits, I really mean it. However, I only review albums I like, and the “reviews” themselves are more intended to encourage discovery rather than to express my personal opinion.

Currently the site is written by just me, Jack, but I’m open to expanding in the future. If you’d like to write a guest review or essay (or anything, I’m not picky), just let me know.